


Book Review

by Accal1a



Category: Society of Gentlemen - K. J. Charles
Genre: Books, Boys In Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:33:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28140939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Accal1a/pseuds/Accal1a
Summary: Silas and Dom passionately discuss a new book, 'The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner' by James Hogg.
Relationships: Dominic Frey/Silas Mason
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Book Review

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sandrilene](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandrilene/gifts).



> **Happy Holidays!**
> 
> I very much hope you enjoy your gift! I had great fun writing it!

Dominic was waiting when Silas arrived in the rooms, their customary bottle of red wine open to the air.

Silas liked that the tradition hadn't faded, even if they were no longer sneaking around quite so much as they had been. They were a far cry from the men who had met and denied their feelings for so long behind a curtain of lust, debauchery, and power play.

There was still plenty of that, of course, but the years had been kind to them after the stress of Silas' near-death due to his seditious tendencies. He hadn't stopped being a radical, of course, that was in his blood; but he had stopped anything more treasonous. It wasn't worth the sadness he saw writ in his Tory's eyes whenever he thought Silas would backslide and thus harm himself.

"Did you read it?" Dominic said somewhat gleefully, attempting to keep his smile as neutral as possible.

"Did I—" Silas said, then seemed to run out of words. He dropped into the chair opposite his lover. "Yes, I read it, but I am going to need some food in me before I can even think about discussing it."

Dominic smirked at Silas, knowing full well that they would be in for a good debate about the subject. He had hoped that they would have a spirited discussion, but he could see that Silas was fuming, filled with all sorts of ideas about the prose that had been picked.

"What would you like to talk about over dinner then, my love?" Dominic said around a mouthful of deliciously cooked lamb.

Silas put down his knife, but pointed his fork at Dominic. "What the hell was that book, Dom?"

"I believe it was entitled ' The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner' by James Hogg."

"You believe…you _believe_ that was what it was! As if you didn't seek out a copy of this obscurely published _Scottish_ book? As if you didn't know precisely what you were doing."

"And what, pray tell, was I doing?"

"You _knew_ that I would come in here, that we wouldn’t even be able to get through dinner without me telling you how _ridiculous_ this was. And _Scottish_ , Tory? Really?"

"Nothing wrong with the Scots." Dominic said, even though he knew that was not how Silas felt, and, if he was honest, not what he felt either…still, it was fun to rile up his lover.

"Nothing wrong with the—" Silas said, then stood again, stalking back over to his coat so that he could pull the book out of its pocket.

Dominic thought he may have fallen in love all over again on the spot when he saw that the book had odd scraps of paper poking out at various points. Silas might have _hated_ the thing, but he'd still read the whole thing so he could tell him just _why_ it was so awful.

It made him smile. Partly because it showed that Silas was willing to read things that were not similar to what he would normally read, but also because he did the same thing. It didn't matter what text Silas handed him to read, he would consume it, if only so they could have a lively debate on the matter afterwards.

"So you didn't like the allegory inherent in the text? That a man cannot be a sinner if he is doing what he perceives to be a spiritual 'right' in his eyes?"

"No! I don't! Just because you believe in a deity does not mean you have a clean slate every time you do wrong."

"Actually that's exactly what the Catholics believe." Dominic goaded. "And the Reformed Church too, although they have fewer rites for it."

"Catholics!" Silas spat, then thought better of it. "That is a much bigger discussion for another day. Right now, we need to talk about a man justifying _murder_ because he already believes _God_ has damned these poor men. It sounds to me like he liked playing God himself, and was using his faith as an excuse for it."

Dominic nodded, not saying more, waiting for a break in Silas' rant.

"…and we're never sure he _actually_ is faithful, are we? He's not exactly a reliable narrator! He could just be another lunatic with a penchant for blood!"

"His faith is well documented from Reverend Wringham, or at least strongly implied."

"If I was the bastard son of a priest, I might want to stay close to the church too, keep up appearances that things were on the up and up and not bring his family more scandal. I'm not sure that is enough."

"So, I suppose you believe he murdered the rightful heir for the Lairdship?" Dominic said.

"Nothing so simple!" Silas shot back. "I think he was a sick man who chose to pick a fairy story as a justification for murder, and in doing so brought his brother down."

Dominic took a sip of wine, then put his glass down again. "And what about the second portion of the book? Surely, we get a more reliable turn of events there, directly from the horse's mouth, so to speak."

"You must be joking." Silas scoffed. "The second half was all the more of a fool's journey, because this time we were in the mind of the madman."

"So what do you think of this Gil-Martin character then? You believe he is a delusion in the mind of Robert?"

"Absolutely." Silas replied, then peered at Dominic. "You don't?"

"I think he is meant to portray the devil, but is merely the darker thoughts one has at night, or in moments of rage. To show that a descent into madness is a slippery slope and it can visit anyone."

Silas thought on that for a moment. Eventually he nodded. "True. But I do not think that absolves him of his crimes. He still chose to follow in this Gil-Martin's footsteps. If he had been a righteous man as he was purported to be, he wouldn't fall to those temptations, would he?"

Dominic conceded that point. "And the implication that this was a found memoir, that this is indeed a true story?"

Silas looked at him askance, and Dominic smiled, laughing. "So, we can agree on some things."

Silas rolled his eyes fondly.

"So, on balance the book was…" Dominic concluded.

"Utterly ridiculous." Silas replied immediately. "Not worth the paper it was printed on. No wonder it didn't have a big print run. And the author making an appearance at the end as a character? An act of hubris."

Silas was mystified by the book, the conversation, but he couldn't deny he was having fun at the same time. Where the hell did Dominic get this rubbish from anyway? Surely, he had access to better books as a Knight of the Realm. This couldn't possibly be the cream of the crop.

"So, thinking of it purely from a prose perspective…" Dominic said, smiling, knowing he was about to be victorious.

Silas sighed. "It _was_ well written, I'll give it that."

Dominic smiled in triumph, taking a celebratory sip of wine.

"You'll pay for that win on your knees later, Tory." Silas growled, his tone shifting in an instant.

A shiver ran through Dominic's form, and he knew his eyes darkened slightly with lust. "Promises, promises, brute."

"And I'm picking the next book." Silas continued, wanting to get the last word.


End file.
